After the Confession: Ichika
by mediaocrity4
Summary: Series of shorts set between Fuutarou's confession and marriage to Ichika
1. Chapter 1

**AN: First Ichika chapter, the cycle is now complete.**

Chapter 1: Ichika's Confession

The van passed through a forest thick with trees. The only thing in Ichika's vision were eaves of green and brown. Anticipation had taken hold of her heart. This was the biggest movie she had ever been a part of, and one where she'd be more than just a side character that dies in the beginning.

"Thanks for bringing me along Ichika." Miku said as she leaned up against her sister.

"Thank the Chief for agreeing." Ichika said.

"It's no problem for my rising star." Chief said. "We're filming a period piece. And when you said your sister is a history buff I knew it was a good idea." The mustachioed man looked back and gave a thumbs up. "One of the scenes we'll be shooting tomorrow is a crowd shot, so we'll need lots of extras anyway."

"To most people these girls look the same." Fuutarou said with a tap of his foot. He and Miku were the only ones tagging along for now. The other three sisters had other obligations and couldn't come on this trip.

"Uesugi-Kun, that's what hair and makeup is for." He laughed. "When they get dolled up for the camera even you won't be able to tell that they're related. Not that it matters with how many extras are going to be with you."

"I doubt the team is that good." Fuutarou noted.

They arrived at their destination. It wasn't quite how Fuutarou expected it. Every piece was designed to be shot from a certain angle, and only that angle. Around the sets were several trailers for the cast and crew. Within seconds, Ichika was pulling Miku away.

"Wow, so this is a real movie set." Miku said.

"It'll look a lot more authentic from the right angle." Ichika noted as she shot a wink towards Fuutarou. "You can share my trailer Miku-Chan."

"I'll show you to your trailer." The Chief said as he lead Fuutarou away.

About an hour later, Fuutarou had his stuff together. He wasn't just a tag-along for Ichika, he had other work to do. Some of Ichika's co-stars were also in high school and Fuutarou was going to be their on-site tutor for the next week or two. It just added to the sense of debt he felt for Ichika. It was thanks to her that he was able to continue working as the Nakano quintuplets' home tutor. And now she got him this job as well. Though, when they had talked about it before, she claimed it had actually been the Chief's idea. It was thanks to Fuutarou that she was able to graduate with the rest of them without interfering with her shooting schedule and that was by no means an easy feat.

"Fuutarou." The two girls came in, both looking completely different than their usual attire. It took their former tutor a minute to distinguish the two. Miku was better at imitating the other girls, but Ichika could embody wholly new people.

"Ichika, Miku." He correctly identified them.

"Wow, you've gotten really good." Ichika said.

"You might have a cute face, but you're only a decent actor."

"Aww, you said I'm cute." Ichika beamed.

"He also said your acting is subpar." Miku deflated.

"Anyway." Fuutarou looked at his watch. "I have about half an hour before I have to meet with my new students."

"Don't go falling for them now." Ichika teased.

"Don't joke like that." Miku pouted.

"I don't think there's anything to worry about." Fuutarou noted.

"Well, we're going to get out of your hair." Ichika said.

"Actually Ichika, if I can have a word with you." Fuutarou said.

"I'm sure whatever you have to say, you can say in front of Miku. I'm probably going to tell her anyway."

"I'd...rather wait a bit longer for her to hear." Fuutarou said with a blush.

"Oh." Ichika blushed.

Miku hesitated for a minute. She was reading the atmosphere and didn't like where this was going. Nevertheless, she had long committed to letting her sisters do as they pleased, and she wanted Fuutarou to do the same. So, she left them alone.

"Ichika, I wanted to thank you again." Fuutarou said.

"It's no problem." Ichika played off the advance. "It's the least I could do after everything you did for us and all the times I tried deceiving you."

"Your deceptions never worked though." Fuutarou stepped forward. "In the back of my mind I always knew the truth. I know how you always felt about me, and the guilt you felt knowing how Miku and the others felt as well."

"Fuutarou-Kun, you're going to make me blush."

"Ichika, I...I want you to go out with me." Fuutarou admitted.

"That's...a lie...right?"

"No, I've been thinking about love and stuff since our final school year started and, I can't explain it but I'm in love with you." Ichika wrapped her arms around him and started laughing.

"I don't think I deserve this, not after everything I've done. But if this is your decision, you'll get no argument from me." Ichika said.

"I was a little worried you'd turn me down just because of Miku." It was why he wanted to get some alone time with Ichika.

"Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could. Not for more than a few days. No matter how hard I try, I just can't quit you and let you go." Ichika sighed. "What am I going to tell…"

"Leave Miku and the others to me." Fuutarou said. "You just focus on your performance."

**AN: Took me a while to even get a decent idea for Ichika. She's the easiest to do as a supporting character but I just can't see her in the lead. Maybe it's because she's starting to bow out for good now or maybe it's because she made some serious mistakes before. But this is the shortest one for those considerable reasons.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Second Ichika chapter. I'm trying to get at least five chapters out of everyone before I completely put this series on the extended backburner, and I think Ichika is going to end up giving me the most trouble simply because of how unlikely it is that she'll win in the actual series.**

Chapter 2: Ichika's Interview

"Miku?" Fuutarou said as he entered the building. He had just so happened to run into the third sister on his way to visit Ichika. Seeing the depressed look on her face made him realize it was the first time he had been alone with her since they got back from the film shoot.

"Hey Fuutarou. Visiting Ichika?"

"Yeah." He kept his answer short and sweet. "I know she has an important interview tonight. She invited me to go see her."

"Oh...she l-" Miku paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, she's up in her room right now. I'll get out of your way." Miku put her head down and started walking towards the door. Then Fuutarou grabbed her hand. Her heart skipped a beat as he spun her around to face him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't reciprocate your feelings Miku." He said.

"Don't apologize, you did nothing wrong. If anything I should apologize for clinging onto these petty feelings. Just now I was going to say she left already so you'd go away and make her think you stood her up."

"But you didn't." Fuutaou said.

"Only because it's too late now. I can't be with you without breaking Ichika's heart." She broke free and sprinted out the door. Fuutarou missed his chance to tell her that he wants to five of them to stay on good terms. In fact he might have just made things worse.

"She'll come around." Itsuki assured him after he explained what happened. Ichika was still in the bath when he arrived and so he spent a few minutes talking to Itsuki. Fuutarou was thankful for her frank and serious nature. Maybe even more than Ichika, Fuutarou always felt like he could be open with the fifth sister, precisely because there was no romantic feelings there.

"Well, well, well." Ichika said as she walked down the steps to join them. "You know, if I knew you'd be here so soon I would have waited to take a bath with you." She winked.

"Like hell I'd let that happen!" Itsuki went full mom mode with that one.

"Just kissing." Ichika laughed. "You always take things so seriously." The first sister stepped over and pinched the fifth sister's cheek. "You about ready to go Fuutarou-Kun?"

"Yeah." He said as he stood up.

"Ebata-San will be here in just a minute." Ichika said. "So we're just waiting on Nino."

"She's up in her room." Itsuki said. "I'll go get her." She ran up the stairs towards the second sister's room.

"Strange, I thought she'd be down here waiting." Ichika said.

"Has everything been alright here?" Fuutarou asked.

"I wouldn't really know. I'm only ever here to sleep and shower anymore." Ichika said. "Why? Did Itsuki say something?"

"I ran into Miku on the way up here?"

"Huh...how? She left hours ago. I wasn't in the bath for that long."

"It's uh...where was she going?"

"I don't know. She just said she had some running around to do. Figured it was work related."

"So, she was really thinking about pulling something." Fuutarou muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"I'll tell you later." Fuutarou said as he spotted Itsuki and Nino coming down the steps. He quickly sized up the second sister. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary but she definitely wasn't in one of her best moods.

"Hey Fuu-Kun." Nino said. "You look nice."

"So do you." Fuutarou said. Nino refused to look him in the eye the whole time.

They arrived at the studio and parted ways with Ichika. The three of them sat in the stands. Itsuki formed something as a soft barrier between Fuutarou and Nino. It was a conscious choice on her part. Neither Fuutarou nor Ichika knew how tense things had gotten around the house involving their relationship. And Nino was taking it the hardest.

She was mad. She was mad at Fuutarou for choosing the one that was furthest from the family. She saw it as a slight betrayal of Fuutarou's promise to help them all stay together. Even more so she was mad at Ichika. She wasn't mad at the relationship itself. She was happy for them. She had determined her odds were slip from the start so Fuutarou choosing someone over her didn't bother her.

What bothered her was how they were handling it. She had wanted the six of them to stay together no matter what. But Ichika was never around, and without her Fuutarou had little reason to be around. And it made their apartment feel that much emptier. And they hadn't even realized it yet. In Nino's mind, it was like they didn't care about how she and Yotsuba and Miku felt.

"It's so amazing, seeing Ichika in a big show like this." Itsuki said.

"Yeah, wonderful." Nino had always been reluctant about Ichika's work. And as of late her fears had seemed to be realized.

"Yeah." Fuutarou said. He was clueless but not dense. Nino and Yotsuba were both insanely easy to read. Both of them were terrible at hiding their true feelings. Every second of observation brought Fuutarou to the truth.

"She's living her dream." Itsuki said.

"Honor student." Nino used the word like an insult.

"I'm glad she's successful." Itsuki said. "She put a lot of work into her career and risked graduation to make this happen. I'm proud of her."

"Now you sound like Dad." Nino grunted. "Tell me how you really feel."

"I am!" Itsuki said. "I told you, I'll be the mom of the family. Isn't it right for a parent to want her kids to be happy and successful?"

"You're not our mom though!" Nino snapped. "You can keep pretending like everything is peaceful and everything is alright. But you didn't hear Miku crying herself to sleep last night. You're not the one who stayed up until 4 am the other day comforting Yotsuba and making her cookies when she couldn't sleep. I only came to this damn thing so I could try letting Fuutarou know what's been going on."

"Can we please not do this here." Itsuki hissed. "You're starting to cause a scene."

"Nino, we'll talk about this later." Fuutarou said. "I'm sorry that you feel this way but…"

"It's not your fault. And it's not Ichika's. But we can't keep dancing around what's been going on. If the two of you are going to work out and NOT abandon the rest of us then this is something we are going to have to talk about."

"I understand." Fuutarou said as the show started. "And thank you Nino."

After the show, Fuutarou met with Ichika backstage and told her what happened. She seemed to take it a little hard. It wasn't a surprise, but it was one she hoped to avoid. This is what she was worried about, and wasn't thinking of when Fuutarou had first talked about dating her. They set a date. This Saturday, they'd have a family meeting.

**AN: Went from 0-60 on conflict. But I like the idea I came up with here. All the other ones have the girls being all okay to moderately depressed. Ichika is just perfect for creating conflict post-confession, due to her recent actions leaving for filming and her prior actions screwing over Miku.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Now to pick up where I left off with Ichika. I think Ichika has the highest chance of pissing people off if she wins. So I'm feeding just a little bit into that. But I also want to make it interesting without making it depressing.**

Chapter 3: Ichika's Family Meeting

Ichika felt sleepy, but she had to stay awake for the day. The apartment was silent sans the ticking of a clock. Itsuki was talking with Yotsuba and Nino was talking to Miku. Ichika was only waiting on Fuutarou. She felt he'd be her only shield in the family meeting. She had done so much to screw them over. She had thwarted Nino's attempts to be alone with him. She disguised herself as Miku to manipulate him. She took the picture of him and Yotsuba and tried claiming it as her own. He saw through all of that, and still found it in his heart to love her.

But in that love, she had spurned her sisters. She had no idea what they were going through. She didn't know what they were feeling. She had been willfully ignorant of their pain. She hadn't consoled them. She had barely even talked to them since she and Fuutarou started dating.

Yotsuba and Itsuki joined her at the table. The younger pair sat silently. Itsuki had her arms crossed and was relaxing. Yotsuba was fiddling with her skirt and staring down at the table. She would look up after a few seconds and fail to find the words. When Fuutarou walked in, she flipped a switch and brightened up. Ichika saw through the facade and that gave her hope. She hadn't completely lost touch with her sisters afterall.

"Where's Miku and Nino?" Fuutarou asked as he took his seat.

Itsuki gestered up towards Miku's room. Fuutarou caught her drift and waited. The two joined them a minute later. They both just looked tired and drained. Nino passed everyone a cup of coffee and sat between Miku and Ichika. Fuutarou was between Ichika and Itsuki, with Yotsuba between Miku and Itsuki.

"Let's get this started." Nino said. "Uesugi...you are part of this family. We have all accepted that. That's the only reason you are here right now."

"I understand." Fuutarou nodded.

"Now, why have you…"

"Wait!" Yotsuba cut Nino off. "Uesugi-San did nothing wrong. No one did. It's my fault for not being honest with him. It's my fault for waiting until he figured things out on his own."

"Yotsuba's right." Miku said. "We can deal with it on our own."

A silence hung over the room for a minute. Ichika began to choke up. It was Kyoto all over again. She couldn't help but feel guilty. Though, this time it wasn't because of what she had done, but rather what she hadn't done.

"I love you all so much." She said behind swallowed tears.

"That's not the issue." Nino said. "We're a family, and families should talk about their issues. They shouldn't have to pretend the issue doesn't exist. You shouldn't have to deal with this yourself."

"Maybe it's time they should." Itsuki said.

"That's one of the reasons why I called this meeting." Nino said. "I can't blame Ichika or Fuu-Kun over things they've been too busy to notice but every time I've tried to bring it up you've stopped me."

"Ichika and Uesugi-Kun deserve to be happy." Itsuki said. "What right do we have to mess with that?"

"What right? Everyone has a right to their happiness? Seeing Fuu-Kun and Ichika both growing apart from us is stressing me out, making Miku cry and making Yotsuba relapse into isolation."

"I didn't mean to cause any problems." Fuutarou stood up.

"You didn't." Miku pleaded. "I just…." She paused, obviously struggling to find the words.

"Now's the time to say it." Nino said.

"I just miss my big sister." Miku said. "I never thought I'd be jealous of both of you."

"Miku-Chan." Ichika sighed. "I miss you too, but you should focus on what makes you happy."

"How has culinary school been?" Fuutarou asked.

"It's been going fine. I'm getting really good."

"I'll have to come by one night when you're making dinner." He said. "What about you, Yotsuba?"

"I ...did I tell you I got into veterinary school?" Yotsuba asked.

"I did. Taking care of pets seems perfect for you." Fuutarou said. "Nino, how's…"

"Business school is a pain in the ass." Nino said.

"I'll help you." Fuutarou said.

"But Uesugi-Kun, your own schooling should take priority." Itsuki protested.

"I'll help you all get through this. I'll find time for all five of you and my own studies and work. I've done it before and I'll do it again."

"Uesugi-San!" Yotsuba said. "I can't condone that. I should be the one supporting you, not the other way around. Leave this to me."

"I can't just let this slide." Fuutarou huffed. "I made a promise, a promise to you, that I would help people. This is what I want to do."

"Fine." Yotsuba softened. "Then I'll do whatever I can to support the both of you." She held her head down.

"Thank you all for bringing this to our attention." Ichika said. "We'll make more of an effort to spend more time here."

"I'll even come over when Ichika is busy." Fuutarou said.

"Uesugi-Kun...that won't be necessary."

"It's what I want Itsuki." Fuutarou said.

"I'm with Fuu-Kun." Nino said. "The six of us are a family."

"But it would be easier for all of us to move on if we weren't constantly reminded of how great he is!" Itsuki snapped.

"You too...Itsuki-Chan?" Ichika couldn't believe the outburst. She had always thought Itsuki and Fuutarou were mentally the closest. They seemed to have an uncanny ability to understand the other one's thought process, if not their feelings.

"Itsuki?" Yotsuba asked.

"It's nothing." Itsuki bit her lip. "Maybe I'm wrong. But I don't know."

"You'd be right if Fuu-Kun was just some dumb guy." Nino said with a flip of his hair. "But like I said, we're all family. We're all going to have to deal with it. If he simply broke our heart and started dating someone else, I'd want to distance myself too. But he did choose one of us. He's family now. And family has to stick together."

"I would never want to abandon my family just because they like the boy I'm dating." Ichika said.

"This situation just seems volatile." Miku spoke up. "And it will be until we all get done with school and start working on our own careers. But what matters is that we're all on the same page. So…" The third sister stood up and gave Fuutarou a look of determination. "I'll be fine."

"Then meeting adjourned." Nino said. Itsuki was the first to head back to her room. Ichika wondered if it was really alright with her.

"I should make something." Miku said. "It's so rare that we're all together."

"I just wish the situation wasn't so tense." Yotsuba pouted.

"Fuutarou-Kun." Ichika whispered. "Is this really alright?"

"You're terrible at multitasking." Fuutarou whispered back. "Leave everything to me and I'll keep you informed about everything that happens."

The rest of the morning was peaceful. They all ate together before going to take care of their respective responsibilities. They were all on the same page. It wasn't jealousy that was upsetting Miku and Yotsuba, it had been abandonment fears. That was a lot easier to take care of.

**AN: The problems aren't over with this fic. This is just one issue resolved. I construct more when I return to this fic. But for now, I'm going to keep all five of these fics even.**


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